Ted Fairhurst wrote:
I'm looking for advice on whether or not I should waterproof my basement
walls in order to eliminate dampness on the basement floor.

The dampness appears to be the result of moisture rising through the
2-inches of concrete. Our house was built about 85 years ago. It has a
clay-brick foundation, possibly without any weeping tiles.

Since the basement is partly finished, installing a new, sealed and
insulated floor is not an option. I wonder if waterproofing the walls and
installing new weeping tiles will likely solve the floor dampness problem.
Some people have suggested that waterproofing the walls will only prevent
wall dampness. They say that water might well still enter the basement
through the floor.

Any advice on this point much appreciated.

Ted Fairhurst

97.25% of the time waterproofing walls will not help. ... Well at lest
it does not help when you are trying to do it from the inside.

To solve the problem you need to get the water away from the
foundation/wall/floor before it gets to it. To do that you need to make
sure all the ground around your home slopes away from you foundation. You
need to make sure not gutters etc. empty anywhere close to the foundation.
Finally you need to provide a way for water that does get their naturally
will find it easier to flow away from your home, than into it.

Frankly I doubt if waterproofing the walls will proved any relief at
all.




--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math